Francis Bacon (1909 – 92) originally began as an interior designer. His work was of satisfactory quality and still without formal training in his first stages as an interior designer, but in 1944 his art work was evidently developing a stylistic shift. His signature, popular style of art consisted of male and female figures confined in un-proportioned bodies, sectioned in three panels, also known as triptychs.
Many of his paintings are presented in the form of the use of negative attributes, or x-ray aspects. It also contains fractions of styles created by the artists: Rembrandt, Velazquez and Goya.
For example, a similarity of this is the ‘series of screaming popes,’ idealized by Velazquez portrait of ‘Pope innocent X.’
Bacons beliefs as an artist shadowed Nietzsche’s theory that humanity were in full responsibility of re-creating themselves after the death of God. During his later years, Bacon produced a vast amount of works, including “head 1” and ‘’ fragments of a crucifixion” which was heavily influenced on the interest of the crucifixion of Jesus. The composition of the characters in the painting with two animals fixated in the centre of the image suggests the focal point of this mysterious, negative and obscure painting.
The production of this work was based on the Christ’s crucifixion, and is also viewed in various perspectives, (also known as a triptych), also showing the painting in a view of an overshadowed door. Rumours have circulated that the two figures in the centre of the painting represents the attack of two animals, the bottom being a female chimera, isolated and trapped in the middle of the frame, due to her becoming prey by a violent and aggressive dog who has attacked her. The dog appears to be overlooking its prey as it takes its last breath. The appearance of this preyed animal has the body of an owl like structure, with humanistic facial features.
The expression bared on the preys face appears to be in fear and agony, screaming from its mutilation and pain. This has been influenced from a large range of sources, mainly fixated on the character of the screaming nurse from the 1925 movie “The Battleship Potemkin”. It also includes the influence of a range of Adolf Eichmann’s work of various snapshots consisting of a range of representations of the crucifixion of Christ, and the lowering of his corpse subsequent to this historic event.
In another one of his paintings: ‘Head 1 (1948) a man’s face is fused with a baboon, baring its teeth; in what could either be hatred or agony. Bacons paintings are often unsettling his style often criticized, his difficult personality often evoked, but his legacy and contribution to mid 20th century British art cannot be doubted.
Bacons memories of his childhood in a rigidly Catholic Ireland, included flashbacks of being locked screaming in a cupboard. The fear felt by those, Bacon believed were victims of the Vatican’s policies. Religion was one of Bacons greatest loathings, and i think you can feel it in his paintings. As an artist, your job is to present the ideals and common morals of society and question them to the audience, by morphing paintings into your own beliefs and thoughts. Bacons work consists of vivid, angry pictures, which could define some of his negative personality traits, asif his thoughts and emotions seep into his paintings like his own blood from a paintbrush. The analysis of his work shows the psychological impact of his childhood memories, ones that made him feel isolated, desolate and angry as a child. He possibly never overcome or accepted his memories and traumatic events, which shows in his paintings. This could possibly have been a kind of therapeutic process for Bacon.
During his adolescent years, Bacon had produced a wide variety of works. His aims as an artist were to be a realist, and not to shock speculators with his work. However, critics disapproved of his work, stating that he one of the worst artists of his era.